Stories from Thursday, January 11, 2018

Confirmed flu cases in Butler County are at an all-time high for the year and according to the Butler County Health Department are doubling each week. "This is the highest number of cases we have seen at this time for the flu season," Butler County Health Department Communicable Disease Nurse Whitney Preslar said...

A second person filed Wednesday for Poplar Bluff City Council, but races for the Ward 2 and Ward 4 seats remain uncontested. Interest in the April 3 election has been slow across Butler County as the Jan. 16 filing deadline for city and school board spots approaches...

Officials are working to resolve a problem with a visual guidance system at Poplar Bluff Municipal Airport that began shortly after new lights were installed a year ago. A warning concerning the issue has been posted for pilots with the Federal Aviation Administration...

A winter storm watch has been issued for Butler County and officials are urging caution on the roads during the overnight hours and Friday morning commute. Sleet and snow accumulations of up to two inches are predicted by the National Weather Service, which has issued the watch through noon Friday...

By PATRICK J. BUCHANAN What caused the FBI to open a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in July 2016, which evolved into the criminal investigation that is said today to imperil the Trump presidency? As James Comey's FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller have, for 18 months, failed to prove Donald Trump's "collusion" with the Kremlin, what was it, in mid-2016, that justified starting this investigation?...

By MONA CHAREN President Donald Trump's official statement about Steve Bannon -- the lack of exclamation points made it seem as if it might not be 100 percent his own words - is welcome. The president distanced himself from his former aide and included this dig: "We have many great Republican members of Congress and candidates who are very supportive of the Make America Great Again agenda. ...

By ADRIANA COHEN Talk is cheap, especially in matters of foreign policy. Over the past decade, we've learned that words -- soft or tough -- won't abolish the North Korean nuclear threat; only action will. To our detriment, both the current president and past presidents have proved this fact -- in spades...

He has become somewhat of an institution in the City of Dexter over the years. Those who don't know Joe Weber personally certainly know the Weber name. Weber has had a presence in downtown Dexter at the family business, Weber's Ben Franklin, since the mid-1950s, and since 2002, has filled the seat of Dexter's mayor...

NEELYVILLE Mo. -- Jessica Peel, 40, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 at her home. Visitation will be from 1- 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 at the Fowler & Sons Funeral Home in Neelyville. The funeral will immediately follow in the chapel at 2 p.m. with Pastor Kevin Macnaulty officiating. Committal service will take place in chapel...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Virginia Maxine Vincent, 88, of Malden, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at the Malden Nursing & Rehab in Malden. Graveside funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Bethany Cemetery with Rev. Danny Collins officiating...

By PAUL DAVIS Outdoors Editor Missouri's Middle Zone duck season closed Sunday, leaving only the South Zone remaining open (through Jan. 28). At the Otter Slough Conservation Area, hunters had one of their best seasons ever, despite mostly dismal numbers and a lot of unhunted units the last week because of near-total ice coverage...

NEELYVILLE, Mo.-- Della Dean Bates, 69, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at the Barns Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. Visitation will take place at noon, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2017 at the Naylor Pentecostal Church. The funeral will immediately follow at 1 p.m. with Donnie Fowler officiating. Burial will take place at the Coon Island Cemetery. Fowler & Sons Funeral is in charge of arrangements...

By JOE JEREK Mo. Dept. of Conservation JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports 15 free-ranging Missouri deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) out of nearly 18,400 test results received so far for the season. The 15 new cases consist of:...

By FRANK CAMPA Mo. Dept. of Conservation With archery deer and turkey season almost to its end, some outdoorsman may be suffering from "cabin fever" and want to get outside and do something to stay active through the cold winter months. With the colder weather we have had and more likely soon to come, a good suggestion to break-up the winter doldrums is hunting for furbearing predators...

Karen Celeste Kratovil, 73, of Lowndes passed away peacefully on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. She was born Feb. 27, 1944 to Charles and Celeste Kratovil in Mineola, N.Y. She married her second husband Robert Broshuis on April 28, 1993. She was a retired RN who worked her entire career in St. Louis nursing homes and hospitals. She enjoyed spending time with her family and fellow church members, cooking, crocheting, and genealogy...

Dorothy M. Tomblin, 80, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. passed away Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, at the Puxico Nursing and Rehab Center. She was born Sept. 2, 1937, in Alabama. She had made medical gloves. She enjoyed watching wrestling on television and enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren...

James Mckendrick Johnson, 97, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. died Jan. 5, 2018. He was born June 15, 1920 in Paducah, Ky. to the union of Joe Johnson and Hellen Whitfield. James was an only child. His mother passed when he was 3 years old and his Aunt Ruby Mae Broyles raised him. James accepted Christ as his savior at an early age and joined Central Church...

NEELYVILLE, Mo.-- Dorothy Spencer, 70, of Harviell passed away Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at Westwood Healthcare in Poplar Bluff. She was born Sept. 11, 1947 in Portageville, Mo. She married Elvin Spencer (of 50 years) on Feb. 8, 1964. He preceded her in death on Nov. 25, 2014...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- Debra Kay Wicker, 60, of Piedmont, Mo., died Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, at her residence. There will be a memorial visitation from 12:30-1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at Ruegg Funeral Home, Piedmont. Memorial services will follow at 1 p.m., also at the chapel...

Eddie E. Patterson, 71, of Wappapello, Mo., died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2018 at his residence. The arrangements are pending and will be announced by Cotrell Funeral Service.

Dorothy Ann Buck, 83 of St. Charles, formerly of Poplar Bluff, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018 at Lewis and Clark Gardens in St. Charles. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. - noon Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at Fowler-Sullivan Funeral Home, Poplar Bluff, Mo. Graveside funeral services will be held at noon Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, at the Black Creek Cemetery with Steven Buck officiating...

After signing Dexter forward Hannah Thurmon as the first member of its 2018 recruiting class, Three Rivers College doubled down in the paint by recently signing Neelyville's J'Kayla Fowler. "It feels good. I'm excited to get started after this season and continue forward in my life," Fowler said. "I like how they play. They play fast and they play together. They talk to each other and they work hard. I know when they're all working hard and you can tell when they are."...

Versatile would be a good word to describe Three Rivers College's newest recruit. Dexter senior Hannah Thurmon signed a letter of intent recently to play basketball for the Raiders. "Hannah's a real versatile basketball player," Dexter assistant coach Eric Sitze said. "She can step out and shoot it. She can score inside. She can pass the ball. She can handle the ball. She's got great length defensively. She's got a lot of good positives to her game."...

If playing two road games in two days in two cities wasn't challenging enough, this year both the Raiders and Lady Raiders have open the test against a nationally ranked opponent. Three Rivers plays at Moberly Area on Friday and then at State Fair on Saturday. The Greyhounds (15-3) are ranked 11th in the country and the Lady Greyhounds (16-0) are ninth...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Lula Bell Bertholomey, 79, of Pacific, Mo., died at the Pacific Care Center in Pacific Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. Visitations may be made after 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, until time for memorial services at 2 p.m. at the Watkins & Sons Chapel in Dexter. Burial will be at a later date in the Taylor Cemetery near Essex, Mo. with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Dexter in charge of arrangements...